JOTUN HULL SKATING SOLUTIONS:
A CLEAN BREAK FROM FOUL PRACTICES
We get beneath the surface with the Jotun HullSkater to find out how this proactive hull-cleaning device is saving money and helping to save the planet
It’s becoming more and more apparent, even to shipping companies which have been slow in committing to ecologically responsible digital strategies, that slashing carbon emissions and cutting costs are not mutually exclusive principles but are actually two sides of the same coin. If there is still any element of surprise in this, it’s perhaps only that new approaches to even some of the less highprofile operational procedures at sea can have a markedly positive effect on reducing a fleet’s carbon footprint while saving substantial sums of money. One such major breakthrough, heralded with some justification as a revolution in hull-cleaning technology, is the HullSkater, the outcome of a close and lengthy collaboration between two industry giants, KONGSBERG and Jotun. Where cleaning the hulls of large vessels has habitually been an expensive and laboriously reactive process, requiring divers and/or subsea drones to painstakingly remove macro-algae and macro-fouling from a ship’s sub-surface structure, the hull skating principle is proactive, keeping hulls consistently clear before bacterial organisms can properly take hold. The risk of fouling increases when vessel operations are disrupted by factors such as fluctuating cargo availability, changes in fouling pressure and the number of ship idling days, so the HullSkater is an especially attractive solution for shipowners whose fleets are involved in challenging, unpredictable day-to-day operations. However, its potential for lowering fuel consumption, lessening the environmental impact and enhancing the hull efficiency of any large vessel is boundless. Courtesy of Kongsberg
THE JOTUN HULLSKATER AT WORK As the key component of Jotun’s Hull Skating Solutions (HSS) initiative, the Hullskater is designed to be a permanent component in a vessel’s equipment inventory. It is installed while the ship is in dry dock, while Jotun’s SeaQuantum Skate antifouling coating – which is designed to deliver good protection while withstanding regular proactive cleaning by the HullSkater – is being applied to the hull. The HullSkater itself is a remotely operated, four-
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wheeled device capable of being deployed underwater at any angle, even upside-down. Each of its wheels contains a magnet core which affixes the HullSkater securely to the hull, and its array of sensors and powerful lights are complemented with four cameras. The three cameras mounted on the front can be configured to point downwards for hull inspection purposes or positioned as front-facing so that operators can use them to navigate the device over the hull.
